


A Different Path

by changingdestiny4



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alcoholic Lionel Luthor, Bad Parent Lillian Luthor, Child Lena Luthor, Child Lex Luthor, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Funeral Scene, Gen, Good Person Lex Luthor, Good Sibling Lex Luthor, Lena's Mother Is A Kind & Compassionate & Nurturing Woman, Lena's Mother Lives, Lex & Lena Grow Up Together In A Warm & Loving Home, Lex Is Led Down The Right Path Instead Of Being Swallowed By The Darkness, Lex Is Taken In & Raised By Lena's Mother, Positive Influence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-12
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-18 20:21:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29374524
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/changingdestiny4/pseuds/changingdestiny4
Summary: What if things had gone differently For Lex than in canon ? What if he'd been raised by someone other than Lionel and Lillian ? What if his wish that his sister's mother had also been his mother been granted and in turn kept him from being swallowed by the darkness ?[An AU in which a series of circumstances leads to Lex being raised by Lena's mom instead of the Luthors]
Relationships: Lena Luthor & Lena Luthor's Biological Mother, Lena Luthor & Lex Luthor, Lena Luthor's Biological Mom & Lex Luthor
Comments: 5
Kudos: 16





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone, how are you? This story is inspired by the arc of a villainous character in another series I enjoyed watching, one which showed that he was not born evil but that life, circumstances, and the wrong mentor made him what he was. And that made me think of Lex Luthor in “Supergirl”. What if he had also been reared by someone other than his parents, his mom in particular, and with the upbringing of another person who was a tremendously positive influence in his life, he grew up to be good?
> 
> And I also thought of his story in regards to how Lena’s mother was so kind to him and it caused me to wonder, but what if her mother had somehow ended up raising and guiding him towards the right path, starting when he’s a child? And so this story is for the purpose of exploring that.

Ever since the four year old Lena, who he had had deduced was his half sibling due to his intellectual mind and even at a young age, had arrived into the home, he’d been delighted to have a sibling and was quick to welcome her in his life. And when he’d figured out that she was also the daughter of his father’s companion, a woman named Kieran, who’d been compassionate and comforting to him when he’d lost his dog Ignatius a few years ago, he’d been even more welcoming and especially since his new sister reminded him of her mother.

He’d later learn though, from young Lena sharing this with him as best as her four year old self could muster, that she’d gone swimming with her mother and after some time, she’d gone back to shore while her mom continued swimming. But then her mom seemed to disappear in the water and later, a grownup jumped into the water and got her out but her mommy was asleep, not waking up, and was taken away in flashing vehicle.

Sometime afterwards, upon secretly listening in on one of his father’s conversations, he further learned that Kieran had nearly drowned while out on the beach with her daughter and had remained underwater for a time until some bystanders realized what had happened and, diving into the water, extracted her from it while dialing 911. She was unconscious however and had been taken to the hospital where she was currently in a coma.

Lex had then gone into his room and wept bitterly, devastated that a woman who’d been so sweet to him when he’d first met her, and as far as he was concerned, a much better woman than his cold mother would ever be, had nearly drowned and could possibly die. And his heart went out further towards his beloved baby sister for facing such a terrible tragedy.

Due to the circumstances, Lionel had taken his daughter into his home temporarily, with permission from the appropriate authorities due to her being his daughter and in light of what had happened, but after they’d inspected his home and environment for young Lena’s safety. However, and as for his wife Lillian, she was not welcoming towards the little girl like her husband and son were, instead behaving in a manner alternating between cold and outright hostile due to Lena being a constant reminder of her husband’s infidelity. But after a firm conversation from her husband, she refrained from being directly hostile towards her but still treated her with coldness and went out of the way to ignore her presence.

Lex on his part found himself angry over his mother’s behavior towards his sister. He did understand why she was doing so and despite his young age did understand that infidelity was a terrible thing and had even been very disappointed in, and upset with, his father for betraying his mother. However he did not appreciate her treating Lena as though she was responsible for the actions of their father and her mother and it was another reason as to why he was so kind and loving to her.

Days passed, and then months, and during this time Lionel was in a continued state of anguish over Kieran’s continued coma, becoming emotionally distant towards his family. He eventually, and regretfully, ended up turning to the bottle and after making a habit of heavy drinking, eventually became an alcoholic and began being emotionally abusive towards his wife and children during his drunken moments, which were quite often, though he thankfully never laid hands on any of them.

His emotional abuse in turn caused Lillian, who was already harsh, and sometimes emotionally abusive, towards Lex as part of his upbringing because she felt it would make him stronger, became even harsher towards her son which in turn caused him and Lena to become even closer, little Lena doing all she could to comfort her big brother as best she could and which he was incredibly grateful for.

One time, Lex had gone to his room crying since his latest tutor had spanked him over not understanding a lesson the latter was trying to teach the boy. It was not Lex’s fault though. He really had studied hard and was a prodigy, but was just having a little difficulty with the math equation given to him. Sadly though, and even before Lena had come to live with the family, it was Lillian’s policy to grant permission for his tutors to use corporal punishment on him whenever he failed his lessons and even when it wasn’t his fault.

In his room he had continued to cry but was trying to make efforts to hold back his tears in between since his mother had taught him not to show sympathy and that no one would show him sympathy, a lesson she’d strongly attempted to drive home to him when she had his dog put down and refused to let him be there. As he wept Lena entered his room, saw her big brother cry, and not wanting to see him sad, wrapped her small arms around him in a hug, which he welcomed due to it reminding him of when her mother had engulfed him in her arms when Ignatius had died.

And so as the months continued to pass the siblings continued to become closer, their bond strengthening, as their father’s alcoholism and emotional abuse, and in turn Lillian’s harshness towards Lex, worsened. She even began to return towards her more hostile attitude towards Lena while her father was unable to shield her since the bottle robbed him of his awareness of everything around them. She and Lex sometimes even ran away to the latter’s teahouse, which was becoming more and more frequent, whenever their father and Lillian had heated and loud arguments, which were in turn happening far more often.

As all of this continued to transpire the young Luthor siblings began to feel more and more despondent while the person who Lena truly wanted, and who seemed to be the only person who showed real love to her brother, was currently in the hospital, still in a coma but nevertheless clinging to life. They could only hope that someone would come and whisk them away from this increasing nightmare. Little did they know though that their wish was about to come true.

**To Be Continued**


	2. 11 Months Later

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now chapter 2

Lex and Lena were currently playing chess in the living room, enjoying the rare peace they’d occasionally experience but were always welcome of. Earlier that day, their father and Lillian had taken the limo to visit one of Luthor Corp offices and they were currently under the care of their nanny, a kind woman who’s company Lex enjoyed and who’d gotten attached to the little Lena. She was currently in the kitchen preparing melted cheese sandwiches for her two charges as they played.

“Checkmate”, Lena giggled in victory after having beaten her big brother in the latest round.

“Ah dang, how are you so food at this”, Lex groaned and threw his hands into the air, to which his sister answered with a mischievous grin. As this was happening, there was a telephone call and the boy got up from his chair and went to answer it. Moments afterward, a series of firm knocks were heard and the nanny on her part went to answer those.

“Um, hello?”, Lex answered after picking up the phone.

 _“Is Mr. Luthor available?”_ , the female caller on the other end asked.

“Um no, he’s not. I’m his son though. May I ask who’s calling please?”, Lex replied, curious as to what this was about?

 _“I see then. Well I’m Dr. Schwartz, and I’m wondering if you could get in touch with your father and let him know that Miss Kieran has finally awakened”_ , the doctor on the other end requested.

Lex eyes widened upon hearing the news regarding his sister’s mother.

“Did you say that Lena’s mom’s awake? As in she just got out of her coma?”, he asked in near shock, happy tears beginning to stream down his young face at the news.

 _“Why yes, that would be correct young man. She finally managed to wake up and a few hours ago, and is currently asking for her daughter, who I assume is your sister. But please be sure to send the message to your father. It’s very imperative that we meet with him soon in light of these developments”_ , the doctor answered.

“Of course. I promise I’ll let dad know as soon as I see him. And thanks”. The boy then ran into the living room where Lena still was.

“Hey sis, guess what? Your mom just woke up. After all this time she finally woke up”, her brother said to her excitedly.

Lena’s mouth opened upon hearing the news, her eyes wide while her little hands moved to cover her still open mouth.

“Mommy’s finally awake?”, she gasped in response, happy tears falling down her own cheeks.

“Yeah Lee. I just got off the phone and they said that she’s finally woken up. I’ve gotta tell dad”, he answered happily after which his sister ran over and engulfed her brother in a hug, the two siblings happily jumping up and down at the fact that her mom would be alright. As they were celebrating, their nanny then entered the room, along with two uniformed police officers, a grim expression written on her face.

“Lex, Lena, could you please come here for a moment?”, the nanny called to them, causing them to immediately stop and head over to her, upon which they saw the officers standing next to their nanny.

“Um, what’s going on nanny? Why are those officers here?”, Lex was asking, trying to figure out what was going on although he had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. The nanny took a deep breath, pursing her lips as she bent down in order to be on eye level with her charges.

“I’m afraid something very bad has happened young Alex. It seems that your parents had an accident on the road while on their way to work, and, well, I’m afraid they won’t be coming home”, she did her best to explain gently, trying not to overwhelm the boy. Lex’s eyes widened in response, the weight of her words sinking in as the pit in his stomach grew tenfold.

“Mom and dad are gone, as in dead?”, he asked in shock, trying to wrap his head around this news. His nanny nodded sadly.

“Yes my boy. Apparently their limo was hit by another vehicle and the impact between the two vehicles was, well, it was pretty bad and I’m afraid they have died. I’m so, so sorry”, she answered somberly, doing her best to hold back tears. While she did not exactly approve how her employers had been behaving towards the children, especially in regards to Mr. Luther’s alcoholism, and privately felt relief that they would no longer be around to do so, she still knew that it was a terrible thing for any child to lose their parents and therefore her heart broke for him, and even Lena in regards to their father.

Lex, after a moment, dropped to the floor and sat there, still reeling from this news. As for Lena, while she did not understand exactly what happened, she was able to ascertain, as best her young mind could, that something bad had happened to her brother’s mommy and their daddy and because of it, they would never come home and now he was all alone.

Soon Lex lifted himself up from the floor and turning, went into his room and flopped down onto his bed. As he lay there, tears, but those time of sadness, began falling from his eyes while a whirlwind of emotions swirled through his mind. On the one hand, he felt the natural sadness of a child losing his parents and even found himself missing them. He even thought of the occasional happy times he’d shared with them in the past, and before his dad’s alcoholism in particular. On the other hand, he couldn’t help but feel some relief over them being gone for good considering what they’d put him through over the last 11 months, and his mom long before and over the years in regards to her harsh upbringing of him.

He immediately felt guilty afterwards for the latter relief since he knew that’s not how a son should feel over the loss of his parents, but he couldn’t help himself. After some time, Lena came into his room and also flopping on his bed, laid right next to him.

“Are you alright big brother?”, she asked him softly. The boy shook his head.

“Nah Lee. I’m really not. My parents are gone, something I never thought would ever happen. And I don’t know how to feel. On the one hand, I know I should feel sad that I’ll never see them again and in some ways, I do. But I also feel relieved since that means they’ll never be around to hurt us anymore. I also know that I should stop myself from crying since mom sees it as weakness and would have my head for it but at the same time, she’s not here to do so and will never be here to do so. And so I don’t know what I should do, how I should feel, or where I should go from here”, he answered, which soon turned into a ramble until he finally stopped and placed his head into his hands, starting to cry a little more.

Lena looked at him sadly, and then wrapped her arms around his neck.

“Don’t be sad big brother. Mommy once told me that whenever someone goes away forever, they end up in a beautiful garden filled with warm sunlight, sparkling fruit trees, and surrounded by glowing beaches. And it’s filled with shining stars at night. And not only that, but even though they may be gone, they turn into shining angels who watch over those they love. And so if any of us feel alone, we should always remember they’ll be there for us and that someday we’ll see them again”, the little girl said to him softly, doing her best to reassure and comfort him.

A part of her though did silently agree with her brother in regards to feeling a little happy that Mr. and Mrs. Luthor were gone since the latter had not been very nice to her and she could never understand why, while their daddy had begun to cease being the very nice man he once was. But she wisely refrained from saying those words out loud and instead the two siblings continued to lay in bed together. After a while, she spoke up once more.

“What’s going to happen to us now?”, she asked him worriedly, to which his eyes suddenly widened in realization that he had not thought of that important issue.

“I don’t know. I just don’t know. But hopefully everything will turn out alright for us both. But know that no matter what happens, we’ll always have each other”, Lex answered as he did his best to reassure both his sister and himself. A few moments passed, and then Lena spoke up once more as an exciting thought came to her.

“Maybe now that mommy’s finally awake, I’ll get to go back home with her and not only that, but maybe she could take you with us”, she exclaimed happily. “And then we can all stay together forever.”

Lex frowned at that, not sure if that scenario would ever happen with him while also coming to the realization that with Miss Kieran now awake and depending upon everything going fine, his sister would likely be returned to her mom, something he realized he should’ve thought of and mentally slapped himself. Of course, he was very happy for Lena but at the same time knew that it would likely mean that they’d be separated.

And if he were honest with himself, he did not want that to happen since these last 11 months with her had been a huge comfort for him and he did not want it to ever end. In addition, he could not help but think that it’d be a dream come true if he could go and live with Miss Kieran since even after all of those years, and as evidenced by his emotions over her pulling out of her coma, his impression of her had not changed and especially in that he still felt that she would’ve been a much better mother for him than his own mother.

Plus, from the stories that Lena had told him, her mother seemed to be a very carefree, playful person who really loved the outdoors and was very nurturing, which caused his positive impression of her to grow stronger than ever. He however figured that his going to live with her though was a foolish pipe dream and so squashed that thought and scolded himself for even entertaining those kinds of thoughts.

Instead, he comforted himself with the fact that his sister would more than likely be returned to her mother very soon while also hoping that his situation, in light of his parents passing, would be resolved in the best way possible, and especially since there was no other family of his on either side who could claim him.

And so brother and sister continued to lie on the bed, enjoying the quiet and each other’s presence while remembering the few good times Lex had experienced with his mother and they had both experienced with their father, not realizing that their wishes would be coming true very soon.

**To Be Continued**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Regarding the part about what Lena’s mom shared with her about the afterlife, and while not canon as far as I know, I wanted to really capture her childlike innocence while also exploring the type of person her mother might’ve been based upon how she was described. And I also got a little of it from “The Lion King”.
> 
> And speaking of Kieran, what I shared about her is canon according to Wiki, at least in regards to being playful and liking the outdoors.
> 
> How am I doing though in regards to capturing Lex and Lena’s young ages? I personally don’t consider myself to be good writer of childlike mannerisms and so some feedback as to how I’m doing with Lex and Lena would be welcome.
> 
> Have a great day.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the next chapter.

In the days and weeks following the elder Luthors deaths, a flurry of activity had transpired. Arrangements were being made for their funeral and the handling of the will, Lena’s mother had been kept under observation for a few weeks before being discharged, and discussions were being made with CPS as to what should happen with Lex and Lena.

As part of those discussions, it had been decided that Lena would be returned to her mother depending upon whether the latter made a full recovery and based upon her miraculously rapid progress at the hospital, considering that was in a coma for 11 months, her prognosis was very hopeful. She still needed a comfortable environment to recover further and so, and in addition to young Lex successfully insisting upon this course of action and his nanny backing him up, assuring the doctors that she was capable of caring for the recovering patient, Kieran was brought to the Luthor mansion for her recuperation.

As soon as she came through the door, supported by her nurses who were there to make sure that her transportation from the hospital to mansion went smoothly, her little girl came running down the stairs and leapt into the welcoming arms of her mother.

“Mommy, you’re awake again. I was so afraid you’d never wake up and that I’d never see you again, but you’re awake. I’m so happy mommy”, Lena gushed as she held onto her mother tightly, both females crying happy tears of joy.

“Of course my child. You know that I would never leave you and will always come back to you. Oh I missed you so much my baby girl”, Kieran gushed in return and embraced her daughter tightly, peppering kisses all over her face. Eventually the mother and daughter extracted themselves from their embrace and the woman looked up to see Lex standing nearby, and her eyes lit upon recognizing the boy she’d met and comforted a few years back.

“Lex? Is that you? I must say that you’ve managed to sprout up quite a bit since we last met”, she said to him with a huge, dazzling smile and in her thick Irish accent. Lex blushed in response.

“Um, thanks, Miss Kieran, and it’s really good to see you again”, he replied, inwardly doing happy jumping jacks that she still remembered him, while extending his hand to shake.

The woman let out a melodious chuckle in response and opening her own arms wide, pulled the boy into a warm embrace.

“Please call me Kieran, and thank you so much for helping to take care of my precious daughter, who I assume you’ve guessed is your little sister”, she said to him warmly as she hugged him, also delighted to see him once more.

“It was no problem, and it’s been fantastic having a sister to play with. Not to mention that she’s great with chess although she’d been beating me a lot at it lately”, he responded with a smile, and then complained but good naturedly, to which Kieran laughed gently.

“Sounds like my little girl is shaping up to be a potential prodigy, and I’m delighted that the two of you are getting on so well and I’m sure she’s glad to have a new sibling in her life”, she replied with a smile as she finally let go of him and with a quick kiss to his cheek. She also gave him her condolences over his parents deaths to which he nodded in appreciation.

Meanwhile the nurses who had accompanied her had exited the property after ensuring that the nanny would contact them if there were any problems, and following her brief conversation with Lex, she made her way to the guest room while the male servants helped carry her bags. After arriving, she collapsed onto the bed to rest while the servants put down her bags and then left the room. After a while, Lena came into the room and climbed onto the bed next to her mother, curling up against her side.

Holding her daughter close to her and never wanting to let her go after being away from her for what felt like forever, Kieran listened as she told her what life had been like living with the Luthors over the last 11 months. Lena happily shared with her about how awesome a big brother Lex was to her and the fun times they’d had together, and especially in regards to playing chess, to which her mother teased her about beating her big brother so many times at it, both females giggling.

The mood then turned serious as the girl the told her mother about how Lillian had been very mean to her until her dad stopped her, and then how he also started being very mean towards both her and her brother and that he and her brother’s mom were always yelling and screaming at each other. Kieran could not believe this and found herself very angry at all of this though she managed to hold it in for her daughter’s sake.

She also questioned her, needing to know this, if the Luthors had ever spanked or physically hurt her, to which Lena shook her head and added that they did not hurt her brother either, but that Mrs. Luthor did allow his teachers to spank him if he failed in his lessons and that she’d once overheard the former telling someone that it made him stronger, though she did not understand why hurting someone would make them stronger.

All of this left Kieran very upset, not believing that the man she fell in love with had turned unlikable. In regards to Lillian though, the other woman of course knew and recognized that messing with a married man was immoral, out of order, and figured that Lillian was lashing out at her daughter since the latter was the result of it. And she was sorry for any pain it had caused to the other woman. But she had zero tolerance over anyone treating her daughter terribly and that Lillian should’ve known better than to treat Lena the way she did and should’ve recognized that the fault was Kieran’s and Lionel’s.

Later that day, while conversing with the nanny, she learned even more about what her daughter had shared with her, including how Lionel had fallen into alcoholism due to her coma and it causing him to lash out at the family, the regular heated arguments between him and his wife and how it affected the children, and Lillian’s harsh upbringing of her son and how it had grown even worse as a direct consequence of her husband’s drinking habits.

Poor Kieran couldn’t believe what she was hearing, even starting to feel a small shred of sympathy towards Lillian over what her husband had put her through. Though she still could tolerate how the other woman had treated Lena or even her own son, and her heart just broke for both of them. And while Lionel might’ve felt incredibly broken over her coma, she knew that it nonetheless did not give him the right to turn to the bottle to try and solve it and especially considering the detrimental issues it caused his family and especially their daughter.

She honestly wished that the Luthors were still alive so that she could give them a severe piece of her mind, but more so towards her former lover. A part of her even felt glad that they were no longer around so that both her daughter and Lex would no longer have to go through any of that, though she would always cling to the memory of the man she’d originally fallen in love with.

Sometime afterwards was the funeral, which was attended by her, her daughter, Lex, their nanny, and close friends and business associates of their family. During the services, people gave her a string of judgmental stares due to her status as Lionel’s former mistress, which she did her best to ignore, though she glared right back at them when they gave the stink eye to her daughter. They could judge her as much as she wanted, but Lena was off limits for them.

She also held both children close to her, her and the nanny shielding them as best they could in case there were ever moments in which the siblings were feeling overwhelmed, though it also caused her some further, and almost ugly, looks towards her for seemingly acting as though she was claiming Lex was her own child, which she was not doing.

Following the services was the burial, during which everyone observed silently and somberly as the caskets containing the Luthors was lowered into the ground. As it happened, Lex suddenly began to cry hard. He of curse knew that they hadn’t been parents of the year during his 11 years of life and was still feeling resentful towards them and especially over what they’d put him and his sister through over the last 11 months, but they were still his parents, he had enjoyed a few good moments with them, and now they would never returned to him ever again.

As he continued to cry, he felt someone wrapping their arms around his shoulders and looking up, saw that it was Kieran, and he leaned into her embrace, her rocking him a bit as she gently wiped the tears from his eyes and sang to him an Irish lullaby, which he recognized as the same one she’d sang to him when his dog had died. And at that moment, and somehow, somewhere in his heart, he knew that everything would be just fine, both for him and for his sister.

**To Be Continued**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that looks like a good place to end it. And what do you think of how I’ve portrayed Kieran so far? I’m using both the description of Wiki in regards to her, and also my imagination based upon said description, to portray her.
> 
> I’d also like to let everyone know that I currently don’t have any more prewritten chapters on hand and I don’t know when I’ll write more. And so of you don’t see more updates for some time then that’s why. But hopefully I’ll continue this someday.
> 
> Have a great day.

**Author's Note:**

> What does everyone think so far? Also, the parts about Lillian being overly harsh with young Lex at times, allowing his tutors to use corporal discipline on him, and Lionel becoming an alcoholic are canon. It’s written in Wiki. But I had him become an alcoholic sooner for this story’s purposes and it’s because of how attached he is to Lena’s mother and therefore it’s his way of escape as she clings to life.
> 
> But it’s having a detrimental issue towards his family here as you can see.
> 
> I’m also making Lionel and Lillian unlikeable as a comparison and contrast vs how his next guardian will raise him, which you’ll see as this story progresses.
> 
> Have a great day.


End file.
